#weve theorized i got the most

[anadorablekiwi]

My DNA results are in!!!

Wanna guess the percent of asian ancestry? :D

[japplejottomjeans]

STRANGER THINGS 5: A NEW EVIL

DISCLAIMER: i am not a THEORY GUY. i am a FAN who is CHRONICALLY ONLINE and TOTALLY NORMAL about this show. this is just me SAYING SHIT.

Hear me out…So apparently after the first season, people were theorizing how the thessalhydra could make an appearance in season 2. Obviously, that never happened—it ended up being the mind flayer instead right? I guess, eventually, people forgot about it, which is fair considering it was only mentioned like, 5 times. But, because im a fucking nerd i and read too much into everything, i realized that the thessalhydra, or any other monster alike to it, was never mentioned again. Of course, it could just be a slip up or inconsistency or fuckin any other excuse they conjure up, but i dont like that way. Heres a different reason i like better

THEORY: THE THESSALHYDRA, OR SOME MONSTER LIKE IT, WILL BE A NEW VILLAIN IN SEASON 5

Wills painting depicted a dragon of some sort with several heads--the thessalhydra also has several heads

There are other theories of Wills art foreshadowing the future. In season 2 when he was possessed he draw a map of the town, purely from his subconscious.

Because he is still tethered to the upside down and/or vecna, hes still able to foresee the future—even if he doesnt know it—specifically the painting he gave to mike in season four. Its of the partys d&d characters facing a dragon type creature wearing three heads. To be fair, the thessalhydra can have up to 9, but the fact that they both have over 1 i count as a similarity.

Alot of people think theres gonna be a dragon next season—personally i dont think it makes sense, just a fucking dragon comin outa nowhere. The GA wouldnt clock it unless it looked exactly like it, or there was some flashback to the painting, or something. Idk, i just think itd be tricky. But the thessalhydra could work for several reasons: 1. its been mentioned verbally in the past, so it would be easier for the audience to remember it. 2. it could make as a sort of realization that their d&d games are having an effect on the real world.

Mike, will, even dustin or lucas would be the first to have that epiphany. I feel like that would give the main party a reason to stick together as they go over everything that happened in their campaigns, try n think of what the fuck is gonna happen next so they can be prepared.

Alternatively; they could be tryin to figure out what campaign could happen next, and before they do the thessalhydra jumps out and theyre like “shit, how did we not realize? it was so long ago…” etcetera etcetera

When vecna shows nancy "the future", she described what she saw to be "a giant creature with a gaping mouth"

The first reason could easily be explained as just a coincidence, but this part kinda sold me ngl. In season four nancy described what she saw in her vision: the town up in flames, dead soldiers, a dark cloud looming over the city, the four gates, but also a another monster. I watched her vision in .25x speed n there was no fucking monster. She goes onto say there were more—a whole ass army of em (probably demodogs).

Anyway, she described the creature as one weve never seen before (unless the mind flayer has another form or sum). I think it looks a lot like the thessalhydra. And these things are like…huge

And so far, everything vecnas showed her has come true

D&D games in stranger things have a record of predicting the future--in the finale of season 1, the party's faced with the thessalhydra. Will defeats it with his fireball (to which he rolled a 14 to cast but thats just the delusional in me 💀)

Ion got a picture for this one but most of yall will know what im talkin about. this is actually another theory thats popular among the fandom. There are tons of variations of it, but ill judt be talkin about the main theme

So whenever a game of d&d is played, it reflects onto real life events (re: season 1 with the demogorgon, season 4 with vecna). Just think of jumanji. Almost all games that have been played in hawkins have had an impact on the town itself— almost all.

The only ones weve seen that have never been referenced again is the one at the end of season 1 (where they defeat the thessalhydra) and in season 3 (where mike sacrifices himself for the town, but uh, ill save that for another post cuz that shit is lowkey concerning ngl)

Anyways—and im reaching with my whole ass torso—the “hoard of juju zombies” could be foreshadowing the “army of monsters” that nancy saw. the thessalhydra could show up with them <- and im talking about this like its endgame material, which it is. heres how i think it could go

Pre time skip, shit happens—i bet the army of monsters nancy spoke of will emerge from the gates. The soldiers will do everything in their power to stop them, but they dont understand whats going on, so they dont defeat them. More shit happens, the town is fled by most, then the time skip.

Its sort of post apocalyptic yk, they dont do much—just try their best to survive. there isnt much they can do. theyre mostly inside, and when theyre not they wear gas masks because of the spores in the air. theyre lives go on, but its not normal. its nowhere near normal.

Anyway, the main conflict ensues, but near the end (probably episode 7 or so) is when that monster that theyve been silently waiting for finally shows up. i think dustin, cuz hes always making the fucking connections to the ud and d&d, coins the monsters name with the analogy that fits it best—the thessalhydra. with this comes a sort of epiphany that maybe these arent just analogies for the sake of it; maybe theyre real.

so dustin tries to contact mike and will (theyre stuck in the upside down right now) to warn them of whats happening. maybe once they all reunite and are brainstorming how to defeat it, they could be like “well how did we defeat him in the game?” silence “a fireball” and will realizes he needs to help defeat it. (protective mike moment)

Yeah this post as all over the fucking place. Seriously im just spitballing. sorry if this is like, incomprehensible 💀 ight bye

[krpk-remaking]

Dr Sex Epic Character - maxx @maxxeruz

Leorio Paladinight is easily one of the most underrated hxh characters, both within the fandom, merch and the manga itself, because he really is the most normal out of the main four and i really think he should be appreciated more because hes a great character!

Once again, shoutout to Mags @senritsus for helping with this! Go follow him!!

Im gonna be talking about Leorios Character, where his arc will go, and his connection with Kurapika. This is gonna be a little harder than writing Kurapika meta, since theres (sadly) a lot less Leorio content and we know a lot less about his background but ill try my best! Leorio deserves it.

Reading my Kurapika meta might make this a little more enjoyable, since i touched on Leorios and Kurapikas relationship more in depth there but you can read this post without reading it!

1 . Leorios Personality And His Past

When we first meet Leorio, hes introduced as a stupid, greedy and quick to anger Pervert, not an uncommon trope for a comedic relief character in anime. Those comedic relief characters often lack personality beyond that, a fact that is actually commented on by Kurapika.

But thanks to Kurapika, about seven chapters in, we learn more about Leorio and his motivations and as the manga goes on, it becomes obvious that there is way more to Leorio than just someone whos there for comedic relief.

Leorio grew up in (presumably extreme) poverty, loosing a friend due to their lack of money, motivating him to want to become a doctor whos able to help people for free.

"I'm a simple guy. Figured I'd become a doctor... so I could cure some kid with the same disease, tell his parents they owed me nothing! Me... A doctor! Now there's a joke!! Do you know how much it costs to even try to become a doctor? The mind boggles!! It's always about money! Always!! That's why I want it!"

Knowing this, Leorios character already gains a lot of depth. Sadly, the manga doesnt mention when exactly his friend died but the 2011 Anime follows the manga more closely so ill go with the fact that his friend died when they were younger. Most of Leorios actions can be explained with the guilt he feels over the death of his friend, how useless he often feels and the way his upbringing in poverty affected him, for example at the very beginning, the fight he picks with Kurapika stems from the fact that Kurapika didnt respect him and was acting as if he was better than him.

Leorio absolutely hates feeling like hes at a disadvantage, or like someone is looking down on him, probably due to getting little respect during his childhood due to his poverty. This also just might be the reason for him to constantly dress in a suit, something that rich, important people often wear. He often overplays his pride, puts up a facade and the way he presents himself really just screams overcompensation in so many ways

Here, he gets upset at Killua because he feels disadvantaged once again. This feeling of inferiority is often the reason for the fights Leorio has with Kurapika and in this instance Killua, he absolutely hates being looked down on. The Other reason he fights with someone early on is, because they dont value life in his eyes, for example the old woman who was asking them to choose between two human lives, toying with them per say, and not valuing them.

Leorio values human life, especially those of his friends over everything else and has a strong sense of Morality, since he did acknowledge he was in the wrong and apologized to the old lady.

When Hisoka was playing with the lives of the others during the hunter exam, as well as Leorios and his friends, Leorio got upset once again and, knowing just how powerful Hisoka was attacked him anyways with no regard for his safety.

He mentions “being toyed with” twice, something people do with people they look down on/are stronger than, where Leorios hate of feeling inferior once again comes back to show.

But, While Leorio absolutely hates being regarded worse than everyone, he also dislikes being viewed as someone whos better than everyone and gets very embarassed everytime someone compliments him/shows him positive attention. This is either due to the fact that he isnt used to it, or that he doesnt think he deserves it (note how hes always drawn with an embarassed blush).

Leorio is a very selfless man, whos ready to do everything in his power to help his friends because he doesnt want to ever lose another friend again. During the election arc, he focuses his entire speech around wanting to help Gon and uses his power to call for everyone to try and help Gon,

when Illumi manipulates Killua into killing during the hunter exam arc, Leorio is ready to give up his hunter licence for Killua,

And, being well aware of what Illumi was capable of, refused to let him through the door to protect Gon.

reassured Killua, showing his intense care for his friends (and little kids since Killua had actually not even been that nice to him),

When Killua had to fight against the serial killer, before they knew about his real strength, Leorio assured him that he wouldnt have to fight,

he willingly risked his life and let hundreds of snakes bite him just to warn Kurapika and Gon and to assure their chances of success, and before that tried to disband their team so they could still advance if he failed,

and, without any fear, they couldve sense that, stared down and yelled at the phantom troupe.

Leorio hates feeling useless and despite that, often does. He felt useless when his friend died and thus decided to become a doctor to cope with this guilt, he felt useless when Gon was sick, like his friend, and he couldnt do anything once again and he feels useless when Kurapika wont let him help him and wont let him reach out but despite that he keeps trying, to fight his guilt, to make sure that Kurapika is safe and to do his best to help.

He describes studying to become a doctor as something he does for himself, he doesnt see that notion, becoming a doctor to help people for free, as something selfless that should be admired.

He doesnt see becoming a doctor as something that he should brag with or that people should know. When he first meets Gon and Kurapika he puts up the front of wanting money to buy cars, mansions, wine, etc, all things one usually would want with money, when he really wanted the money to study so he could help people. Leorio thinks hes useless and good for nothing while everyone else fights and he just “selfishly” studies, but hes not useless at all and obviously studying to become a doctor to help the poor isnt something thats selfish at all. Maybe his motivations, to deal with his guilt over losing a friend, are a little selfish but the fact that he even blames himself and that he copes by trying to protect and value life wherever he can show that Leorio himself isnt a selfish person, hes someone whos ready to put his life on the line for his friends and others any day, despite being less reckless than the other three.

He sees Kurapikas quest for revenge as something noble, while he thinks very little of himself. Even during the election arc, after he had come into second and third place multiple times he was still convinced, somehow, that no one was gonna vote for him.

Even Ging a very experienced and talented hunter, though he is a terrible person, thinks highly of Leorio,

even copying the punch he threw at him, which Leorio, as Ging theorizes, mightve developed to get rid of tumors that are unreachable with operation, showing just how smart Leorio really is.

Leorio is someone whos been alone a lot and, while hes the least reckless and best at selfcare out of all four protagonists, had little regard for himself in especially the first arc, where he just kept jumping into dangerous situation. An explanation for that could be, that he had no one to care about and no one that cared about him before he went to take the hunter exam since weve never actually heard about any family he had or has. He could possibly be an orphan, explaining the missing mention of any family and the extreme attachment he has to Gon, Killua and Kurapika.

Him being orphaned would also perfectly fit into hunter x hunters theme of finding new family after losing another, Kurapika losing his entire clan, Gon losing his father, Killua losing his entire family except Alluka since his family is terrible and as good as dead to him and Leorio just never having really had one. So, the reason he becomes a little more responsible in arcs after the hunter exam is probably, that he finally had people to care about again, that also cared about him so now he doesnt feel like no one would miss him if he died anymore.

In short, Leorio, while being extremely selfless, caring, fearless, moral and empathic, thinks very little of himself and often feels useless and selfish. He cares most about the well being of his friends and has deep rooted feelings of guilt about the death of his friend, even though it was out of his control and he doesnt believe that his goal to be a doctor or really just he himself is deserving of any praise.

His wish to be a doctor is a mix of that extreme internalized guilt from “letting” his friend die, his selflessness that just got pushed up by the guilt and the empathy he gained by growing up in poverty and the first hand experience on why exactly free healthcare is needed.

2. Leorios Relationship With Kurapika, His Guilt, And How His Arc Could End

I wont go in depth about them here, since i already have one that multiple times but they truly are so, so important to eachother and are in many ways two sides of the same coin. Both of them have lost people close to them and theyve dealt with it in such different ways. It made Leorio want to protect life and heal people, focusing his nen around helping others (see: the punch he used being something he actually developed to deal with tumors) and it made Kurapika want to destroy life and kill people, taking revenge and destroying himself in the process, mirrored within his nen ability too (as it literally kills him to use emperor time, one hour of his life for every second). So this set-up, combined with the guilt Leorio feels over not being able to help his friend or Gon, combined with how important they are to eachother, combined with how the current arc has the both together on that boat, I feel like it would really make sense for Leorio to finally be able to save someone, furthering his character arc in a very satisfying way and also helping Kurapikas arc, letting him accept help from others and becoming less self destructive.

“Leorio is an unabashedly selfless character who very deliberately centered his life around helping others and the thought that he cant do that with Kurapika is definitely something he tries to take blame for.” (directly quoted from mags @senritsus <3) If something were to happen to Kurapika while Leorio is near and on top of that on doctor duty, where helping people is his only job, i couldnt imagine the guilt Leorio would feel. Hes always been looking out for Kurapika since they became close friends (and maybe the nearest thing to a best friend either had had in years) during the hunter exam and Kurapika did always try to be someone who calmed Leorio and helped him be more rational, though that changed when he began his down spiral after killing his first person and they drifted further apart and Leorio took on the job of calming down Kurapika.

Kurapika calming Leorio VS

Leorio calming Kurapika

Kurapika is in desperate need of saving and having Leorio be that person to save him would be so perfect for both of their arcs.

This arc already set up the tension in their relationship at the very beginning, or atleast before the succession war began and i do believe it has to be resolved (relatively) soon, especially because of this (once again my favorite) panel, showing Leorio as one of the four people Kurapika cares most about.

And, to quote my Kurapika meta post about this panel, Hes thinking about moments where they made him happy/made him care about them, Gon and Killua with their food fight in the park where they cheered him up and Leorio on the phone. Its him calling to check up on Kurapika. Kurapika really did appreciate it so much, even if he doesnt show it, even if he keeps pushing Leorio away. And he does care about them, even if he doesnt want to! The way Leorio expresses care for his friends, which is very vocal and direct, is so good for Kurapika because even if he still cant really believe or accept it, its still something he appreciates, somehow. I am not (!) saying that they will definitely end up with eachother but they are definitely incredibly important to the others character development and i dont think Togashi will forget about that.

If youve read all this, thank you so so much i really appreciate it! Leorio is an incredible Character that deserves more love and i hope everything i wrote here is coherrent!! If i made any mistakes or if you just have any thoughts youd like to share on this topic please send me an ask! <3

[gizmosisbuttons]

Episode 4 was a fandom wide callout post.

all you fools too busy being pissed bc Coran went all show crazy and basically re-characterized the paladins to what the masses found entertaining, to notice that the entire episode was literally a fandom wide call out post. they literally called us out guys. 

lets go over the list of things Coran said/did in ep 4 and compare them shall we?

let me preface this by saying he literally wasn't himself and i still love him just as much as before, my gorgeous man.

”I worked up very specific personas for each of you. This is going to help the audience connect on a much deeper level with each team member.” 

as if they didn't already have defining personalities that make them very likable and awesome? sounds familiar right? its one thing to speculate and theorize based on what we know about a character especially if we don’t know a lot about said character. the writers put a lot of time and effort into developing these characters and even said during an interview once that one of the things that bugged them about og Voltron was that the only properly developed character was Keith. the other guys didn't get a chance to be loved. and that was what they aimed to do, to give every paladin and character the chance to be loved. since the beginning the fandom has been bad at this. taking one teeny trait from each character and twisting them so that the only thing that matters is that trait. 

         “lover-boy lance”

throughout the series lance is known  to flirt with...pretty much every cute alien girl. of course. hes handsome, charming, girls love him. Coran wipes away all of the actually relatable things about his personality in favor of this charming flirt who would win over girls. Lance is insecure, he’s witty, he is the freaking sharpshooter, the teams sniper and their glue. he’s voltrons right hand now for a reason. he got into the garrison which is a military space exploration base, not just anyone gets in. hes incredibly intelligent and a great pilot. amazing really. bc simulations are always absolutely terrible and rarely help. oh yea, and hes charming.but god forbid anyone forget that hes a flirt. who cares about the other stuff that will actually help the audience connect with him. 

        “science wiz pidge” 

its no secret that pidge is incredibly intelligent. she is one of the characters who haven't gotten their developing points until this season. in one of the first flashbacks we learned she nearly gave up studying because some kid decided to be a dick and bully her. Matt pulled her out of it and encouraged her to work hard. later on in ep 4 coran says that her science doesn't need to be factually correct because noone will understand her either way. he undermined her intelligence because . well. noone cares what she says as long as it sounds smart. fanfic writers do this a lot. like. a lot. i understand that you may not have the same knowledge that the girl who hacked herself into a military school base undercover at he age of 14-15 (if the theory that the garrison is a high school program is correct) because she had gotten banned for sneaking in and hacking into the computer system, but if you really do insist on focusing her on her smarts, do some research. no to mention. pidge may be the youngest, but she really is more than science and calculations. shes intelligent yes, but she can hold her own in battle (at the age range of 15-17 with no prior battle training), shes afraid of the possible reality that all her efforts are wasted and Matt and Sam are dead, she is actually pretty social with the paladins (she can even be seen hanging out in the kitchen while hunk makes glass cookies.) and beyond her intelligence, shes wise. shes not just random science facts, she knows how to hold her own in situations outside of battle and books. shes street smart. 

       “lone wolf keith”

now i know this was said to allura, and ill get to that. but if the keith vlog showed us anything, its that  hes not just a moody loner teenager.  i am very guilty of this myself. i portray keith as a human disaster. we don’t know hen he was left alone, we don’t really know much of his story. i head canon that his dad left him to fend for himself but every month woul drop off food or money or something. i head canon hes terrible about taking care of his body. but at least i don’t call him moody and move on.  i give him a background to fill in the blank space, but sometimes i forget and focus too much on his folded arms and  pouty face. he smiles. he laughs. hes an actual precious bean.  but hes also afraid of being pushed away. hes guarded and does his best to be strong. he hides his feelings and protects his heart with everything he has. (geez boi who hurt you). he is not the human embodiment of “teenagers” by mcr. aka he has feelings too. not to mention he also got into the garrison, and was the top pilot regardless of how he got in, if it happened to be by recommendation like most people think. 

      “humourous hunk”

as a hunk stan this one annoys me the most. throughout the episode hunk is consistently embarrassed, and even protests the fart noises, fart jokes, etc. he is purposely tripped for laughs. the fandom forgets that hes not just the fat funny guy, or just the personal chef. hes overcome so much since babies first lion flight, he used to get sick, constantly had to be the voice of reason to keep his teammates out of trouble,  he is just as intelligent as pidge and is actually one of the only people that can keep up with her science stuff. keith and lance even stated that they didnt understand anything they'd said. hes a fantastic engineer even if he had a few tummy mishaps. hes an amazing pilot too, and extremely sassy. he and pidge probably rigged the game console to work in space, And hes pretty friendly and cautious. he is NOT meant to be the comic relief. (say it louder for people in the back)

     “shiro the hero”

a lot of the fandom has taken to calling shiro daddy, sexualizing him (”now put on this tight shirt”) and focusing on shiro and only shiro (shiros the “favorite character” of corans little show). hes great. he really is. and the man needs a break. voltron is a kids show. he isnt meant to  be sexualized, none of them are. hes more than his arms and his leadership abilities. the biggest issue i have with the whole shiro thing. regardless of if hes a clone, when shiro returned he cut his hair differently, and wore short sleeves. everyone i know, including me, said they'd be fine with the clone if he had kept his hair long and “as much as i love the arm view” and didnt change his outfit. its a kid show. his body shouldn't matter.i am also guilty of this, and ep 4 opened my eyes to it. coran lifted shiros arm as if to prove that thats what the audience really wanted. he treats shiro differently bc hes the real star here and everyone should know it. ofc, hes the black paladin. (i wonder where the whole “the black paladin is the only one who really matters here” mindset came from. looking @ u ‘84). shiros may have ptsd, and hes constantly trying to hold himself together for his team, and its obviously not easy. maybe thats why hes got a cute white floof. the stress. 

      alluras erasure  

another point that always bugged me. the fandom either forgets allura exists, or that she is just stealing lances place temporarily. Allura is the blue paladin. while keith is gone, she is not filling in. shes a paladin now too. for coran to call her keith, and constantly call her keith, even though she obviously has a few choice words to say about it, its distrespectful. she says his plan is working and he replies with “why thank you keith...i like to keep you in character” once again, erasing her existence. now im not as well versed in this particular topic, but id like you to keep in mind that he talks to his princess with that mouth, and that she IS the princess and not a fill in while keith leads. feel free to elaborate on this more. 

     coran “fires “ team voltron. 

this. i find extremely entertaining. remember that legal trouble last year bc of the leaks? and right around that time the klance shipper started threatening them if they didn't make it gayer and put keith and lance together? the  fandom, who wanted all of this to happen their way, were threatening to get it cancelled and such just because things didnt go their way. shiro, the leader, disagreed with coran and tries to shut him down. and coran in fit of rage says:

you're a bunch of quitters! quitters! i’m a visionary! i have thoughts, ideas, i dont need you anyway. ill rewrite the show, get rid of the whole lot of you, replace you with new paladins! and the show will be better than ever before!...except for you shiro, ill never get rid of you, you're our most popular character!

this is essentially what the fandom was saying. now, was this definitely their plan, to call us out with this bit, in not sure, but honestly, its almost too coincidental.

the writers have made it clear that they heard us, and have always been listening. and really, thats why i love ep4. you're angry because you know you got called out but haven't admitted it to yourself. the writers do their best to bring us the best show possible, but they cant satisfy everyone. why cant we just be happy about Actual Meme (tm) Matt, and look forward to season five instead of fighting them because we got our shit handed right back to us. weve gotten a  taste of our own medicine, so chill. i enjoy them keeping us on our toes, surprising us with every turn, theyre great writers.who cares if one or two things pissed you off? we both know youre not gonna stop watching.

[mjeoppa]

a story i told my friends

it’s long so. also contains malay words, if need translation dont use google, ask me. Quick summary: im actually happy (???questionable) but its all rather bittersweet

Maybe a quick intro to the characters of the drama

Me:awkward but living Raja: someone i kinda grew close through wanting to go to the same places together, a smart girl who's understanding and talks a lot, went to an agama school so she has that conservative part of her Afiq: a guy who lives in my neighborhood who's like probably the good samaritan of our malaysian organization, hobbies include playing video games, watching anime and cooking Hakim: afiq's housemate, doesnt really talk to people much but likes to get involved, hobbies include creating short films

So, i met all 3 separately; raja, since she's in my batch, earlier on, in fact she actually flew to michigan with me halfway, then we had different flights. Afiq i met when he came over to my house once, then later he came by bc my housemates said he could help me put my table together, and even then we were chatting comfortably. Hakim i met on a bus home after orientation, and i recognized him immediately; the guys from damansara i saw in the malaysian organization yearbook. But i didnt say anything bc how would i know he's malaysian lol

So after awhile i became friends w raja and afiq, progressing quite well in the friendship statuses, both of them having common interests w me. Then i found out that they were close w each other too. By the end of the semester, it was pretty obvious that afiq has a thing for raja, by the way he treats her.

Hakim on the other hand i kept having accidental meet ups w on the bus, n i could only officially say i know him after the first mso (malaysian student organization) meeting, but after that i didnt have a chance to say a thing to him. But after that meeting, i could also officially say that i have a crush on this guy. Afiq had talked about him, my friend's housemate talked about him, n from what i learned this guy has a weird charm where he does the most unexpected things, or maybe bc hes so quiet no one really knows what hes thinking

Im close to one of my housemates (who has graduated last semester), kak tipah whom i confessed i have a thing for hakim, and she told me that he has a girlfriend 🙃this was rather early in the semester, so i ended up shuffling crushes a lot throughout, but ofc hakim was still my first crush, also my first heartbreak in michigan

Another one of my housemates, kak su, recruited me to join her for her winter break trip, and when she asked whom i think would wanna join, i suggested raja. Another person who was already in on the plan w kak su was a guy named mirza. At this point i knew nothing about him. There was a phase where i would continuously confirm w my housemates whom mirza is through pictures until i could officially recognize him myself

It was thanksgiving, or maybe a few days before when mirza finally confirmed that the fifth and final member of our trip is hakim (jeng jeng jeng). I was happy, but i had to remain calm. He has a girlfriend, after all.

Okay so winter trip. That was so freaking fun. Funny thing is that we were 5 random people w different backgrounds, and yet we managed to make it work. It was awkward in the beginning, but later we learned how each other worked and after a few forum sessions we were more open w each other. Yes i did get to know hakim, but i also got to know so much more about raja, and mirza is a person that i didnt expect when i first came here to be someone that would be cool w being friends w me.

The ridiculous thing is that it was very early in the trip that we established that both kak su and hakim werent available. I didnt know when it started, but hakim started to talk more, and i liked that he didnt mind sitting around me, he was comfortable w stuff like giving me food he couldnt finish and asking what i wanted to order (dinner is usually the time we could talk, otherwise we'd be in the car and we cant really have a one on one conversation)

Raja on the other hand couldnt stop talking

She asked weird questions, and at first it was just to me, but later i fell asleep a lot so she started asking mirza, and so it became a thing that when theyre bored they would be listening to raja's epiphanies about life

Somewhere in between the first and second week of the trip i was texting afiq a lot n he said "aku susah nak rapat dengan perempuan" so to prove to him how bad i am at making friends w guys i told him that he's the closest guy friend i ever had, so ever since that i guess we had this agreement that we were somewhat close friends and we can kinda tell each other stuff

And believe me, i tell afiq stuff i dont even tell raja

So anyway at first i was kinda happy, and we had fun talking bout stuff, but later i saw that he was chatting w raja, so i felt a bit suckish bc he said he was bad at making friends w girls, so was he just saying it for the sake of it?

So there was a time where we were staying at separate houses, the girls and boys, so we decided to go out to eat, and there wasnt anything else to do in tulsa anyway, so we sat and ate and talked for 3 hours. So i asked mirza when did he finally recognized me as "elyna" and he said actually the first time he heard of me was from afiq who told him that i knew a bunch of animes, and yea actually this was before i told him hes my closest guy friend but i just realized that this was when hakim started to talk to me more than usual

Hmm there were times when he says stuff that i was thinking, n i think i say stuff that hes thinking as well bc when it happens he kinda glanced at me weirdly in the beginning, later when weve talked to each other more we finally say things like "hey i was about to say the same thing" or something like that. Example: we were eating at a thai restaurant n the menu was kinda simple, and i was thinking to myself "ape lagi. Pad thai jela." Then mirza asked hakim what he was gonna order, and he literally said the exact same thing i was thinking. Once mirza asked for an extra bowl of rice (also a thai restaurant, but this was a lot later) and he was saying "mahal doh, 2 ringgit" then hakim asked "brape?" "2 ringgit" then i glanced at him and he glanced at me and i said "murah gak tu. 2 ringgit kalau dollar 50cent." Then we laughed and he said he was about to say the same thing.

Theres this thing during dinners that he does, starting from this gyro place, where he would want me to sit somewhere near him, like either across or next to him, probably so that he can crack jokes w me, but after awhile we ran out of things to say. So sometimes we kinda order similar things just bc. Im not sure. Sometimes he follows my lead, sometimes i follow his, then when what i wanna order is too far from what he wants he just orders wtv he wants. I guess later he realizes that im really bad at first orders haha my food always turns out not that good a dish.

Okay so if i go on and on about the trip this story will never end. Basically we had fun, for a bunch of awkwardly matched 5-some. Raja really liked opening forums and asked weird questions and one of em was what were their first thoughts of us, and hakim said that i came to his house several times to play video games so he thought he'd have that to talk about w me. Raja, he said talked way too much for his liking in the beginning, he said he would like his peace lmao. Both of them knew kak su beforehand so they didnt really think of anything. Thing is, raja actually felt hurt at hakim's comment, even tho it was evident that even if he didnt like all her talking, he wouldnt actually stop her from talking. Except there was a time we wanted to play a game in the car n he said "jom main game senyap, siape paling lama diam die menang" n we all laughed n we asked whats the prize n he said that person can get to talk for an hour n kak su said lets let hakim win so that he has to talk for an hour. I take too much time explaining details ugh.

So for the next day after that confession by hakim raja didnt talk to hakim at all. She literally asked everyone what their glasses power were except hakim. I laughed at him quietly in sympathy. But later she was okay w him again. Just that whenever he talked to her she would complain to me.

She also complained that hakim took a long time to follow raja back on instagram but for me it was on the same night. I said it was bc i followed him when i saw that he was on ig, but she said she saw him going on ig after she requested to follow him but he hadnt approved.

Also both raja and kak su knows i like hakim since before the trip.

It was in new orleans that i really felt like he was making me expect too much from him. He wanted to buy a hot dog for himself, but kak su n raja were sharing, n i didnt want one whole hot dog, so he ended up sharing w me, n he even followed me to the counter when i ordered, n it really made me happy, my heart was bursting, thats the only way i can explain it.

So after that everything was rather mediocre. I theorized a pattern in his ig picture liking in which he would like pictures i post that did not include myself in it, except one. After we got home i kinda felt that feeling of "so thats it?"

But it wasnt. My housemates were saying i couldnt move on, but it really wasnt something to move on from. 3 weeks of just them gave me a lifetime of memories. So when I went out w raja on the sunday before classes start, i guess i shouldnt have been surprised whem raja confessed that she has a crush on mirza.

She went on and on about how they had been talking ever since the morning after we arrived home, and all i could talk about was how i felt like hakim treated me like something more than just another girl, n raja said she saw it too, n i couldnt hold on to those feelings bc he has a gf.

Talking about his gf, throwback to new orleans, second night, 1am. It was just me, mirza and raja, n before mirza had mentioned that hakim's gf went to mirza's mrsm before he got there, so he kinda knew who she was, n he told us that night that the girl's previous boyfriend wasnt like hakim at all, so he was surprised. So me n raja were making all kinds of conclusions. Maybe hakim came into the picture right after mimi, the gf just broke up w her prev bf so she was more accepting of him. Maybe mirza didnt really like the girl. Maybe the circumstances of their relationship is not as it appears, but theyve been together for 3 years, and for 2 of those years hakim was in the states n she's back home, so who r we to say if their relationship is good or not? Speculation wasnt even decent, but we speculated anyway.

But yea semester started n in the first week the only time i saw hakim was through a snap of him sleeping in between classes. Raja was moving into our apartment, bc 2 of my housemates were graduating, so she was taking over one of the leases. When hakim found out he was like "alaa nnti jumpa raja dalam bas." N raja was half kidding when she said "okay la kalau jumpa dalam bas aku tak tegur kau".

On that sunday afiq was being real weird. He's close to one of my housemates, one that i havent revealed until now, kak sj, n i dont know if it has anything to do w her graduating. she was the one who told me to ask him to help w the table n she invited him over several times to cook w her. But he was asking me if i had classes he could join in n in the first week, i saw him every week day. We talked a lot about mso n classes n common interests. One day i was saying youre old afiq, and you havent even confessed to ur crush, whatre u gonna do? Then he told me that hes actually confessed to her, a month ago. I was so surprised. I mean, if it really was a month ago, it had to be someone from my batch, probably, n it couldnt have been anyone but raja? But i didnt wanna assume, so i offered a trade - my crush for yours. So he told me about confessing to raja, n i told him about hakim.

That night we talked on the phone for almost 2 hours about feelings and shit. I was pretty dumbfounded. He confessed to raja before the trip, and she kept that from me all the while, i know its probably not my business, but i wonder if she thought it was better that i didnt know? Bc she tells me almost everything about her life, n i tell her almost everything about mine, so why this secret?

I couldnt keep all this to myself. The night before kak tipah's flight home, i told her everything. She said that she shipped mirza w raja, n me w afiq. I told her that me n afiq cant be more than friends, especially not now. And imagine, im actually one of the last ones to know about this confession. Both of them must know that i felt left out? Kak tipah asked, if afiq suddenly told me he likes me, what would i do? I said i probably wouldnt accept him, bc i feel like im just the second option. Then she asked, what if he confessed to me, not raja? Then i said i probably wouldnt accept him immediately, but eventually.

I also felt that afiq's confession was off in timing- it was way too early. We hadnt been here for even 6 months, we barely know everyone in mso, u really couldnt expect her to have accepted him immediately. But later afiq did say that he didnt expect anything from her, he just wanted to know that he likes her. One of the things that we mentioned during the 2 hour talk was what was his previous girlfriends like, n he said him n his friends concluded that there were 3 main components in the girls he liked; 1. Wears glasses 2. Is introverted and 3. Has common interests w him. I was being so slick at not pointing out that all these descriptions fit me, but instead i avoided it by comparing it to raja, n she only wears glasses at night, is extremely extroverted, n common interests w her is very general.

But yea, he dropped out of the classes he was planning to take w me, but we still talked a lot about stuff, n two wednesdays ago i went to his house for fun, n it was hakim's turn to cook, n i think that was the third time this semester i saw him, n he invited me to eat and said "makanla, aku masak untuk kau kot" n it was a happy moment, even if i knew he was just kidding. Later all his housemates left me n afiq to our geeking out session.

The first time i saw him in the semester was during an mso gathering. We didnt talk. The second time i saw him, i didnt actually see him, altho he probably saw me. Raja had been complaining about meeting hakim on buses n being awkward about it, so one day I was helping raja move her stuff, n we were carrying big plastic bags of pillows onto a bus. Raja mentioned beforehand that she hopes she doesnt see any malaysians, n especially not hakim. The bus we got on was rather crowded, so me n raja had to sit separately. I wanted to sit at the back, but it was too much effort to squeeze in, so i just sat somewhere in the middle. When we were almost home, raja kept giving me signals, but i didnt get it. As soon as we got off, raja went all "DAH CAKAP DAH. MULUT AKU NI MASIN SANGAT." So hakim was on that bus, n i didnt even notice him, even after all my previous efforts to get on a bus w him, when i finally did i didnt even see him. I probably did, but i didnt recognize it was him. Raja kept complaining about it but i was just frustrated, so she ended up pissing me off.

Okay so one day i told him that i had a theory for why he likes raja, a girl who doesnt fit the usual description, n it was bc he didnt want to get broken hearted by girls who are as such again, so he opted for someone who's different, bc srsly his exgf treats him like they never came around to broke his heart so thats mean, but it was also a hint i was giving that he should probably stick to being friends w me so that he wont get broken hearted again, but he was all "hahahah you just made my day" and it was bittersweet

This whole thing is bittersweet- liking hakim is, too. Bc i feel like he's someone who treats me better than he treats raja, n that feels so good, even if it sounds mean, but when was the last time i ever felt like i was someone who was preferred over another girl?

Back to the story, things kinda got lost in between my own life of working and classes and doing design stuff for mso n never doing what they want me to do, so when raja suggested we made a batch gathering in our new house, i thought it was an awesome idea bc i havent hung out w kids in my batch for awhile now, n after having a short lunch w one of em the other day i realized that theyve been spending their time living their lives awesomely as well, n i kinda wanna hear all about it.

So yeaa after many discussions on when we should do it n whos free when we finally decided to do it last friday night. Thing is, that morning was my first shift ever, so right after i had to go buy stuff to replenish the household resources. when i was on my bus home, i saw afiq somewhere near the bus driver. I waved at him, hating to sit in front bc those r usually reserved seats n i dont like hesitating to stand up to offer an older person the seat, so i went all the way to the back w my bags of groceries n there he was, abdul hakim bin zazli.

When he saw me he asked "pegi meijer ke?" And i said yea and our conversation stopped there. I was wearing earphones, but he wasnt, but he was looking at his phone. Afiq messaged me "have fun" n i hated him. After awhile i noticed he wasnt really on his phone, he was just bored n that was his escapade, as usual, a habit of his ive noticed since the trip. So I wanted to make conversation, but when i called out "kim" he wasnt responding so i looked away, but suddenly he turned to me but i was already looking somewhere else, so he didnt say anything. He didnt say bye, but after walking a bit i noticed afiq turning around n grinning at the bus. I still hate him.

So that night was pretty awesome. Even most of the guys came. All the girls came. It was tiring having to make sure there was always food for the guests n that they werent bored, but everyone was pretty chill n i loved it. My batch is pretty awesome. I think one of the best feelings after thinking that u suck at befriending guys is having guys laugh at your jokes. intec guys sucked. period.

Saturday night. I was supposed to be studying for a monday exam. Suddenly afiq asked if i wanted to play left4dead2, which is a game we casually play together w sal, a chill sarawak girl who i have a friend crush on (she loves video games too n owns a ps4). We also managed to get mirza to play w us. After losing one round too many times, mirza quit n the cpu sort of saved our ass. It was 2am n we were still talking while doing our own shit. I have a feeling us 3 would make a pretty awesome trio.

Anyway i ended up being the last one sleeping bc i was editing jongup's bday video, but they all said they'd wanna come over to the ceramics studio to play clay from my wheel throwing class. So the next morning i told them it was pretty empty, so sal came n made an awesome mug for a first timer. She had fun. Afiq had a meeting so we met up w him for pizza after, then he came back to the studio w me bc he wanted to play w clay too. He told me that hakim brought the car to campus, so if i still had a lot of work to do n would probably miss the last bus at 5.30 i could ask him. So i did. He said he was going back at 10, n afiq didnt wanna go back that late, so he ended up have someone pick him up at 7. At 9, hakim was in front of the art building.

I keep forgetting to tell u guys that raja has met hakim on buses several times but he wouldnt talk to her, or like, he ignored her, which was something he did even to me before the trip, which is why when he talked to me first on friday, it felt great really. But raja hated it. She questioned it - why does hakim talk to me but not her? Why is he the only person she knows who wouldnt talk to her? I guess what she hated was his ego, but it also made it sound like she wants everyone on earth to love her, n i couldnt really stand that. But i didnt say a thing.

So when he initiates conversation during that what felt so short trip home, i was happy. As i described it to raja, it was a give n take. He would ask a question then talk n I would ask a question then talk n we were still cracking jokes when we were at the front door of my apartment. Unlike afiq who likes long goodbye n attachment, hakim's goodbyes were short n sweet, n i wonder why he's so chill w me, n some parts of me says that he probably thinks i have something going on w afiq, n i kinda hate that.

-tbc-

[comicteaparty]

November 5th-11th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 5th, 2018 to November 11th, 2018.  The chat focused on Cloverlines by Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Cloverlines by Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo~! (https://tapas.io/series/Cloverlines)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until November 11th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. What do you think happened between Damon and Karen that caused such a rift in their relationship? Will Karen sign the divorce papers or is she going to continue to cling to Damon? How will this affect Damon’s future?

QUESTION 4. Several characters mentioned that Aimi is a “failed idol.” What do you think happened that caused Aimi to fail as an idol? Do you think this will have consequences for Aimi and/or the band at some point?

Ash

Hey guys, I'm looking forward to reading all your thoughts about Cloverlines

snuffysam

1. Aimi pulling the strings to get Yuuki into the band was my favorite. Just how she goes from being some spoiled brat who uses her charms (aka the PHEROMONES she puts on for her live performances!!!) to get free meals to being surprisingly sweet towards Yuuki.

2. Commenter "TrAsh" said it best - Damon truly is "daddy material". In all seriousness, it was hard to pick between him and Aimi, just due to how much I love Aimi's surprisingly brilliant trickster personality but... I just feel so bad for Damon, I want to give him a hug

3. Have you met Karen? Hmm... I suppose it could be some major argument, or Damon wanting to focus more on the band, but it may just be that they grew further apart as people...

4. (has anyone besides Monica actually said this? i don't recall) Anyway, I think Aimi failed as an idol because she sabotages every piece of equipment in sight if she doesn't like some aspect of the performance/recording session (the songs, the people she's working with, etc). Was she justified in ruining a bunch of careers (including her own) like that? Well... idol industries in the real world are pretty exploitative, so probably.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Do you think Yuuki will adjust to his new life on Earth and the band in general? Will his addition to the band be good in the long run, or will Yuuki continue to cause problems in his own way? Also, do you think Yuuki will become homesick?

ShaRose49

I read the first two chapter so far lol. I thought Aimi was the cutest thing

I doubt Yūko will become homesick cause earth is the best

Yūko

AAHG, YUKII DANGIT

Oh wait is it yuuki? Sonuva...

RebelVampire

its okay names are hard. i look them up a lot to make sure im spelling them right XD

ShaRose49

Haha yeah but it was also dang AUTO CORRECT lol

Japanese names are hard but here so cool I have a few in my comic. Is this comic cloverlines what you would describe as a sci-fi comedy or rom-com?

snuffysam

there's not really much romance in comic

there's a divorce, does that count?

ShaRose49

Nope! That’s just drama

And no worries I don’t mind romance unless it’s super sassy or steamy and non-stop

I looooooooove scifi

BTW snuffy I think I recognize your name from Comic Fury hi!!

snuffysam

hi! yes, I recognize you too!

ShaRose49

Awesome which comic did you do again? (Or are you a reader whups)

snuffysam

that's something we should probably talk about in #general ha ha

ShaRose49

Oh yeah okay tell me there!

snuffysam

i think yuuki has already adjusted pretty well to the band. though aimi might be a bit of a bad influence, given that he wasn't exactly nice to monica...

ShaRose49

I love the art in Cloverlines it was so cute. Maybe this is random but the face she made when she said she spent all her money on delicious meat was to die for SO CUTE

I’ll take a peek at another chapter before I fall asleep lol

snuffysam

how far have you gotten so far? just the first two chapters?

ShaRose49

Just read the third

Man they beat the crap outta poor yuuki

I love that it’s set in Tokyo and starts at kind of a rock-bottom thing. Nowhere to go but up!!

snuffysam

you say that, but they seem to have trouble with that regard

constantly getting negative press

ShaRose49

Who? I don’t follow but maybe it’s cause I’m tired it’s late where I am

snuffysam

the band

brought in a new guy who played super weird

then played a near-blasphemous song on live tv

ShaRose49

Oh yeah. They were just about to bring him in probably where I left off

snuffysam

oh, I thought you said you read through chapter 3?

ShaRose49

Blasphemous?!

Yeah I did...hang on lemme check

The third chapter just has those two band guys arguing over a solo career and then they find Yuuki getting beat up outside

snuffysam

ah i see what you're saying. you're talking about the third update on line

ShaRose49

Yup.

Webtoons

I forgot it’s on other places too

Why was the song blasphemous was it really inappropriate or something?

snuffysam

well, that's a bit spoilers for the real third chapter, ha ha

which is two chapters away from where you are

ShaRose49

Well I don’t wanna read something super dirty or anything not my style

snuffysam

oh no, it's not dirty

religious blasphemy

ShaRose49

?! Like they make fun of a religion?

RebelVampire

fictional religious blasphemy

snuffysam

^

ShaRose49

Aww-has-has okay gotcha

That’s probably not so bad then

snuffysam

not for us it isn't

for the fictional people it's a bit of an issue ha ha

ShaRose49

🤭yeah poor them lol. It’s nice to have things that don’t exist IRL sometimes so that nobody’s bothered . I’m usually a sucker for real stuff though along with cartoony tropes

Anywho I gotta get to bed, thanks for chatting I will return!

snuffysam

yeah me too, talk to you later!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Cloverlines has suffered several changes in band line-ups. Do you think Aussie might try to return to the band? Alternatively, how might his solo career affect the group? What about Monica? Will she manage to stick with the band despite tension?

Ash

would like to chime in for a bit above: having it be a fictional religion allows for less baggage when depicting its effects i feel, cause I wanna show what are the effects of it, without any risk of offending reasonable people otherwise

it's good to have an objective view on something inherently subjective, and fictionalizing the aesthetic elements allows a way for that

ShaRose49

Yeah for sure, things are safer with fictional concepts but I think real ones can be good to depends I guess. It’s super fun to make up stuff though

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Despite the band focus, the world in the story keeps turning. How might the recent terrorist events affect Cloverlines or other bands? Who do you think Mirai was? What others aspects of the world caught your attention?

RebelVampire

okay time to answer some questions. 1) My favorite scene so far is the one where Damon and Karen have dinner. I really liked all the subtle and not so subtle ways it showcased the state of their relationship. this is not to mention that i liked it wasnt even technically about their relationship, it was about Rinne. the fact it became about their relationship felt both very realistic and very revealing. 2) Damon. I think he has the most compelling of the conflicts and hes the most sensible of the group. He provides an essential grounding influence in the fact of everyone else being a bit more exaggerated, and if anyone is gonna make the band succeed, its damon. also, he has great hair. 3) I assume what happened is exactly what we saw at dinner: they have a personality clAsh. In the end though, I'm gonna theorize that Karen probably pushed Damon a bit too hard..maybe to succeed in music, and Damon just bailed because it wasn't the way he wanted to do it. overall, though, i think the route of their problems stems from the fact that damon is ambitious and laid back while karen is ambitious and aggressive. i think karen will sign the divorce papers eventually. but she's definitely going to cling for a while. however, i think shell slowly ease off as stuff with rinne starts to happen and changes some of the dynamic of the story. 4) Have you met Aimi? XD That is what happened. Aimi is 1000% not the type to follow orders and will do whatever she wants. Thus, this would make her a poor idol since shed be told constantly where to go and what to wear for her image. Damon is a saint for not having fired her. XD Overall, though, the fact she might be a "failed idol" is irrelevant i think. at the end what will have consequences is aimi continuing to do as aimi do.

5) Yuuki seems pretty well-adjusted as is, so he'll probably be fine. I do think there's gonna be more issues with Yuuki as part of the band though. Cause they basically hired him out of desperation and of the two gigs weve seen, we got weird guitar sound one and blasphemy one. so i think as a whole we havent gotten to see a good demonstration of whether yuuki is good or not. so it might take a while for him to fit in with the band. but to be fair, id say this about most of the members. they really need to work on their synergy as a band imo XD. i think yuuki will only become homesick if his fleet comes near enough he could viably go home. cause then its a tangible goal versus some theoretical could do it thing. 6) Idk if will, but I do think it'd be interesting to see Aussie go "i want to come back." Create some drama where the group has to pick between Aussie and Yuuki and test the limits. Solo career wise I think it might actually help the group. If Aussie is successful and is like "i was in that band" others might take more of an interest. As far as Monica goes, she'll probably stick around. I think the worst of the tension already came and went. 7) I assume the terrorist attacks will keep up and they will inadvertantly expose Rinne and cause all the scandal. Though given the comic's tone I can't really forsee any serious consequences. As for Mirai, IDK. Good question. I assume it was a real person who did something significant which is somewhat interesting to consider. For the world in general I'm really curious about how spread out the population is. Cause the galaxy is a big place. And the astronomy nerd in me wonders what the travel technology is like.

ShaRose49

I didn’t get to the terrorists yet I can’t wait!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Rinne, a robot, has a strange vision and keeps asking if Monica is Mirai. What do you think is happening to Rinne? Is Karen right to be worried about Rinne’s sentience? What is Rinne supposed to “create?”

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you think Cloverlines will manage to succeed as a band in general? What do you think has to happen for that to be the case? Alternatively, what other hiccups might they face as they aim for stardom?

snuffysam

step 1: fire aimi

question. does it say anywhere that this civilization spans the whole galaxy? or just the solar system? because the furthest from Earth I remember being mentioned is Pluto

RebelVampire

i think its somewhat implied

because in the opening earth is described as the entertainment of the galaxy

not to mention theres aliens

snuffysam

ah yes

RebelVampire

and last i checked there are not aliens in the rest of the solar system

snuffysam

it's been a while

since i've checked, that is

RebelVampire

but tbf how much of the galaxy is colonized is up for debate. i think its at least implied it goes beyond the solar system tho

so it might not be the whole galaxy. cause i mean galaxies are pretty huge

snuffysam

the nearest habitable planets we've found so far are like 30 light years away? and the milky way is over 100k light years across

anyway my guess is that Mirai is just some robot's rights revolutionary dude, and any surviving sentient robots seem to treat them like some sort of deity. don't think Monica is Mirai though. Rinne just gets confused easily.

also what does Rinne create? sick beats! next question!

RebelVampire

omg XD sick beats is a good answer

cause that does seem the direction its gonna go

Ash

well be exploring the larger space in coming eps

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

snuffysam

i want to see them do more shows! yuuki doesn't have all that much experience under his belt and... honestly, I just want to see a performance where he isn't playing a song ten seconds after finding out about it

RebelVampire

i second that. id also like to see him do a show that isnt buried up to its knees in controversy

RebelVampire

8) I definitely don't think Monica is Mirai. I'm starting to think Mirai is an artifical intelligence maybe. Or was a person who made artificial intelligence which is kind of a big deal. but this is what's happening to rinne. she's tapping into some sort of programming that expresses mirai's ultimate desires for her creations. that being said, i do think karen is right to be concenred. not because rinne is dangerous, but because shes right. if its illegal, their band is gonna be screwed if they get discovered. 9) i somewhat agree with the joke answer that they gotta do something about aimi. i feel they wont succeed as long as they continue to tolerate her impulsive willfulness. not to say theyll have no success, but theres a diff levels of success and theyll never become top tier if her shenanigans continue to bury them in controversy. 10) as i said before, i really would like to see more concerts with the band in general. cause i think its an important experience for them to bond as a band and as characters. i also look forward to karen moving past damon because i think itll be interesting to see how she finally matures enough to reach the conclusion.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Cloverlines this week! Please also give a special thank you to Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Cloverlines, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below! Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/Cloverlines Cloverlines’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wednesdayAsh

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

There’s a lot you may have missed in Donald Glover’s ‘This Is America’ we’ve got you covered

Donald Glover premiere two brand-new sungs on Saturday Night Live this weekend, and while he was on place, he also fell a music video for one of the singles — “This Is America.” The video, choreographed by Sherrie Silver and directed against Hiro Murai, has a lot jammed into it for a four-minute video. It’s an expertly packaged analysis of what’s really happening in the United States. Here’s what you might have missed: SEE ALSO: Donald Glover undertakes gun cruelty in strong video for ‘This Is America, ‘ his new single 1. That’s not Trayvon Martin’s dad Some Twitter useds initially belief the man dallying guitar at the beginning of the video was Tracy Martin — leader of Trayvon Martin, the young son who was killed by George Zimmerman in 2012. Grows out it’s actually Calvin II, a musician are stationed in Los Angeles. You can listen to more of his labor @CalvinTheII. Wait that’s Trayvon Martin’s daddy toy the guitar ok Donald…I see ya #ThisIsAmerica — courtside shawty (@ SO_Am_bitious) May 6, 2018 YO THAT’S TRAYVON MARTIN’S DAD PLAYING THE GUITAR IN THE NEW GAMBINO VIDEO ?! #Shook #ThisIsAmerica — Matthew G Brown (@ ItsMrMGB) May 6, 2018 2. The grease-gun are treated with more respect than human lives Image: donaldglover/ youtube Soon after each artillery is brandished in the video — it happens twice — Glover gently places the artillery on a red cloth held by well-dressed adult. The hitting scapegoat is then dragged off-screen by two similarly dressed men. 3. What the choir represents Image: DONALDGLOVER/ YOUTUBE One interpretation of this moment is that the choir could be seen as representing the folks “whos” shot down while inside a church during the 2015 filmingin Charleston, South Carolina. Their ten fronts are clear as period and cordial. Glover strolls in, photographs, and saunter apart nonchalantly and untouched. Sound familiar? 4. Pay attention to the background ….but also pay attention to the hops. As the video changes, the background activity intensifies. Riotings are breaking out and vehicles are on fire — all while Glover and a group of teenagers jig. It’s a pretty clear analogy — the dancing, or the ethnic contributions of pitch-black entertainers, draw applauses from all corners of civilization while ethnic violence and unfairnes continues to be an everyday and oft-ignored aspect of life. Incorporated throughout the video are many moves — everything from viral video was taking steps to Blocboy JB’s shoot hop to the Southern african Gwara Gwara. These all have different inceptions but blend together to constitute something unique, that is very much a part of our American lore. As Forbes unpacked, these dance figures have multiple presentations: To some, these instants of rapture, be learned from the most recent viral jigs or videos, provide a brief, amusing interval. To others, they might be a way to gain a immediate horse or a few adherents. Image: Donald glover/ youtube The “dancing” around things like police inhumanity and artillery brutality could be seen as a metaphor for how in its own country — politicians often dance around these issues. Additionally, the facts of the case that the dancing is front-and-center requires another lens of interpreting: that this, and same culture, is all America meets when they hear black people. Glover often attains exaggerated facial expressions while moving in the video, which can perhaps be seen as a insidious nod to the caricatures made during the Jim Crow epoch. 5. Phones are out and recording Image: DONALDGLOVER/ YOUTUBE In the video, a cluster of kinfolks( that appear to be girls) are hanging from the balcony with phones out and aspect masks on, entering specific actions below. Whether their phones are pointing to the dancers or the chaos beyond isn’t clear, but it’s a quick wash that strands up perfectly with Glover rapping the melodics “This a celly/ That’s a tool, ” which references two things: the cell phone — not a tool — that Stephon Clark was containing before he was killed by police officer in his own backyard; and the many instances cell phone have been used as tools to broadcast police shooting, rampaging against, or choking black people in its own country. 6. The white horse Image: donaldglover/ youtube In the background of one panorama, we construe a hooded illustration travelling a white horse. Twitter user @courtneysalvin pointed out that this could be a gesture to the Horseman of the Apocalypse, referenced in the “Book of Revelation” in the Bible. The first mare of the traditional four is white, as is the one razz in the video. ALSO( prolonged ): Could this be a Horseman of the Apocalypse rolling through the background? But also the facts of the case that it is able to miss it because of the jigging in the foreground further underlines the distractions of pop culture/ social media #ThisIsAmerica pic.twitter.com/ TPP7XswfGJ — Courtney Slavin (@ courtneyslavin) May 6, 2018 7. SZA’s cameo This is America . A post shared by SZA (@ sza) on May 6, 2018 at 1:16 am PDT All eyes are on Glover, which signifies SZA’s appearance in “This Is America” is easy to miss. The singer is roosted on a auto, and doesn’t have any ways — but perhaps it’s a teaser for a future alliance. It’s worth noting all the car representations seem to be from the ‘8 0s or ‘9 0s( in 2016, Philando Castile was killed by a police officer in a 1997 Oldsmobile ). 8. Is Glover loping from…the Sunken Place? Image: donaldglover/ youtube At the end of the video, Glover is appreciated ranging from a passage of darkness being chased by various categories of what seems to be non-black people, all while Young Thug sings in the background. Many on Twitter have theorized that Glover is in fact moving from the Sunken Place, a thought developed in Jordan Peele’s cinema Get Out . It’s worth noting here: Get Out wizard Daniel Kaluuya initiated Glover’s performance of “This Is America” on Saturday Night Live . One message of “This Is America” is relatively clear: We’ve nurtured a culture in which we accentuate the insignificant, while pulping life-or-death editions are all around us, unaddressed. Our priorities are messed up, Glover seems to be pronouncing. Repeat examines of this classic will , without doubt, uncover more things to unpack and investigate. Watch, do your homework, then watch again — that’s merely the pleasure that comes with Glover’s work. UPDATED May 6, 2018, 5:13 p.m. EDT to reflect that Tracy Martin is not peculiarity the music video. Want more inventive culture writing lighted immediately to your inbox? Sign up here for the twice-weekly Click Click Click newsletter. It’s fun- we promise . em> WATCH: No matter where you are in the galaxy, this placard contingency testifies you mean business Read more: https :// mashable.com/ 2018/05/ 06/ donald-glover-this-is-america-breakdown / http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/06/26/theres-a-lot-you-may-have-missed-in-donald-glovers-this-is-america-weve-got-you-covered/

[maciaslucymua-blog1]

Toxic Shock Syndrome Vaccine Proves We’ve Gone Insane

New Post has been published on http://www.healthgoesfemale.com/toxic-shock-syndrome-vaccine-proves-weve-gone-insane/

Toxic Shock Syndrome Vaccine Proves We’ve Gone Insane

News broke this week that one of the many vaccines currently in the pipeline has passed Phase I trials and is a few years away from heading to market.

Was it for something dangerous and communicable?  Something killing thousands or millions per year?

No.  It was for toxic shock syndrome, or TSS.

We’ve officially gone insane.

Toxic Shock Syndrome Vaccine Proves We’ve Gone Insane

Why insane?

TSS is entirely preventable (or nearly) and exceedingly rare.  There are approximately 25 – 40 cases annually.  Not deaths or disability…cases.  It’s something that impacts almost no one.  (This study showed 61 cases in one geographic area from 2000 – 2006, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 200,000.)

Of these 25 – 40 cases, about half are caused by tampon use.

TSS is caused by staphylococcus aureus bacteria.  A number of people are colonized with this bacteria, but it doesn’t usually cause issues.  In fact, most people already have antibodies to protect against it — this study shows that 85% of people naturally developed antibodies.

Yet, clearly, we need a vaccine to protect against something that the majority of people already have antibodies against, that sickens a tiny handful of people per year.

How Does the Vaccine Work?

The clinical trial was a phase I trial, first-in-humans, so it was very small, consisting of just 46 people.  It is double-blind and placebo-controlled.

But wait!

The placebo, in this case, is a shot of the aluminum adjuvant without the antigens.  It’s not really a true placebo.  This is how they show that it was “safe” — 76% of those in the experimental group, and 83% of those in the “placebo” group had some kind of adverse reaction to the shot.  These numbers were similar (which is actually expected, since aluminum causes a lot of reactions) so it’s counted as safe.

I don’t have access to the full study, so I’m not sure if it showed greater than 85% efficacy — but that would be important, since that’s how many in the general population already have immunity.  Some of the people in this study, receiving the vaccine, already had immunity too. (You can bet that they would recommend vaccinating everyone, because it would be too expensive and time consuming to test to see who already had immunity.)

What’s more, the vaccine is purported to last only 5 years — although since it’s brand-new, they don’t actually know.

So we’ve got a vaccine that lasts 5 years or fewer, causes adverse reactions in better than 3/4 of the people who receive it, for a disease 85% of people are already immune to, that is not contagious, and that infects fewer than 50 people annually.

Yeah.  Makes a lot of sense.

The Problem With the Vaccine

Of course, we clearly do not need a vaccine for this.  We’ve lost our collective minds, if we think that it’s going to be safer and more effective to vaccinate millions for something that 25 people will get, than to simply take precautions to avoid risk factors instead.

Our goal should always be to mitigate risk factors first.  Always.  We should not jump to drugs and vaccines to try to trick our bodies, when there are safer and less invasive ways to stay healthy.

Please be aware — if this vaccine passes all the phases of clinical trials and makes it onto the market, it will be pushed onto all teenage girls and boys.  Half of cases are tampon-related (and therefore, only affect girls), but half occur in immunocompromised people for other reasons (and can also affect boys).

It will be simple.  They will neglect to mention in the ad campaign that it affects immunocompromised people, and say that it strikes half of all cases at random.  They will downplay how rare it is.  They will bring out every story they can about girls who died or lost limbs because of this (it has happened, but in only a handful of cases).  They will try to scare people, saying, “Do you want to be the one?”  They will strongly over-emphasize the risks and dangers of TSS, and will state that the vaccine is effective and extremely safe.  They will neglect to mention that 85% of people are already immune.

It hasn’t even happened yet…and won’t for at least a few years…and I already know exactly how they are going to market it.

Don’t fall for it.

Sadly, a lot of people will fall for it.  People are so used to the fear-shock-horror cycle, that they are ready and willing to vaccinate for anything, if it gives them the illusion of safety.  Please try to inform yourself, and others, so that you do not fall victim to this.  It’s so important to make decisions based on facts…not fear.

How to Prevent Toxic Shock Syndrome

There are fairly easy ways for most people to prevent TSS.

First, TSS has been associated with super-tampon use in otherwise healthy women and girls.  Given that many girls are naturally colonized with the staph bacteria, it’s unknown why it causes issues in some, but it’s theorized that wearing tampons longer provides a wet, moist, bacteria-filled environment for it to grow, and the tissues in the vagina absorb it easily and start the infection (which is a form of sepsis, or infection of the blood).

To prevent tampon-associated TSS:

Do not use “super” tampons; choose a lower absorbency

Change tampons at least every 4 hours

Wear pads overnight

Use a menstrual cup instead

Use cloth pads instead

  There are effectively no cases in women who have avoided tampons or used only the regular absorbency and changed frequently.

About half of cases are not associated with tampon use, and are found in those who are immunocompromised.  There may be no specific way to prevent these cases, simply because this population is at greater risk of everything.  In general, washing hands often (especially after using the bathroom or before eating) is a good way to help.

If you’re safe and careful and not immunocompromised, you can already prevent TSS basically 100%.  There is no need for a vaccine.

Please share this with women you love, so that they can be informed.  It’s a powerful way for women to take their health into their own hands, and to fully understand the risks and benefits of this situation.

How do you feel about a toxic shock syndrome vaccine?

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As the all-female ‘Ghostbusters’ cast and Hillary Clinton fight rampant online criticism, Ellen invites them on her show for some good old-fashioned daytime TV rehab.

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When theres something strange (sexism!) in the neighborhood, when theres something weird (online trolls!) and it dont look too good, who you gonna call?

When you need some brightly lit damage control and a worrisome narrative to redirect, who you gonna call? Ellen!

Served up as a buffet feast for online critics who, according to fans and supporters, have launched gender-based attacks against them, both the all-female cast of Ghostbusters and Hillary Clinton appeared on Ellen Thursday afternoon.

As the objections of Ghostbusters purists incensed at the idea of a reboot of the classic film with all-female cast members reached a critical pointtheir Internet megaphone has sprayed the summer blockbuster with noxious negative buzz and reportedly sent Sony into crisis mode ahead of its July releasethe films stars appeared together on TV for the first time, dutifully drowning out some of those less positive headlines with fawning over how funny they were on DeGeneress show. 

Hillary Clinton herself joins the talk show host in a bit of an inauspicious position. Shes all but certain to win her partys presidential nomination, which would see her leveling her policy expertise against Donald Trump, but her approval ratings are at a historic low for a presidential frontrunner. And so she finds herself grinning and bearing (and who knows, maybe even having some genuine fun!) a game of Would You Rather? on TV.

Hillary Clinton likes Beyonc everyone! Future presidents, theyre just like us. They, to quote Clinton, really believe in making lemonade out of lemons. Or, at the very least, know better than to say they dont like Beyonc on national TV.

Whether or not she intended it to be a firing shot, DeGeneress welcome to the Ghostbusters cast was a powerful one. I cant imagine a different cast for a Ghostbusters! she said as stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones sat down on the couch.

She, presumably, meant it as a deserving compliment to the murderers row of Hollywoods funniest actressesa potentially lethal comedy combination when gathered together for Paul Feigs (Bridesmaids, Spy) gender-flipping spin on the 1984 film.

But the problem for so many of the films critics, sight unseen (theres not even been a press screening yet), is that they literally cant imagine a different cast for Ghostbusters.

The Fab Four of Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd is so untouchable that any film in the franchise without them in the leads destroys the films legacy, betrays the spirit of nerds-will-rise guy comedy that fans hold so dear, and ruins childhoods for those who never want to hear the word Ghostbusters without thinking about the original cast.

Theres an underlying misogyny that many (including The Daily Beasts Jen Yamato) have pointed out to this: Why cant girl movie fans experience the same watershed satisfaction of watching hilarious female scientists battle the supernatural that nerdboys had in the 80s? And the presumption that the film will be an abomination purely because of the clever, progressive casting conceit assumes that the women arent talented enough to make a worthwhile reboot.

Anyway, thats all been written about exhaustively, to the point that Sony is starting to actively combat it, starting with posting the films second trailer on Facebook, rather than YouTube, in what The Hollywood Reporter characterized as a deliberate effort to combat a cacophony of negative reaction emanating from a very vocal minority online. (That minority had bullied the trailer into being the worst-reviewed of all-time.)

Putting the cast on Ellen to combat the critiques with their humor and charisma, and leveraging them against the spotlight of Clintons appearancedespite the former secretary of states own issues with polarizationseems to be phase two of the plan.

As far as a promotional appearance goes, the cast could not have been armed with a more effective slime to wipe out their critics. They were hysterical.

Melissa McCarthy joked about how she got cast in the film: I just kept stalking back and forth in front of Pauls house. I can do it! What about McCarthy? 

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Leslie Jones revealed that she was a telemarketer for Scientology before she became famous: It was an easy interview. I just acted crazy. Kate McKinnon said her weirdest pre-fame job was a Little League umpire. Kristen Wiigs answer: I was an umpire for a Scientology baseball team. As the audience ate. it. up., she looked sheepish that her answer wasnt as strange. I sold peaches at a farmers market, she shrugged.

McCarthy even slyly assuaged some of the Ghostbuster purists biggest fears, clarifying that its not a remake or a sequel, but a reboot. With all the love we have of the original ones, were taking it with new people and new circumstances, she says. DeGeneres then seemed to confirm what had already been speculated, that most of the original cast will appear in the film. 

Did I give that away? she apologized, when the cast seemed shocked at the reveal. Lets storm out! McCarthy joked. They then played a game of heads up that had McCarthy and Wiig bumping and grinding on each other, and the world laughed. 

In fact, a scan of Twitter as the episode aired in New York revealed a break from the incessant vitriol and not gonna see this garbage obstinacy that typically populates the #Ghostbusters hashtag. Obviously, nothing will validate the film and its all-female concept like proof that its actually good when its released. But a gut-busting Ellen appearance seemed to at least redirect the conversation toward the casts talent, which is a win for sureeven if a fleeting one.

Whether Clinton was successful or not, as always, is more complicated.

It shouldnt matter (and yet it always does) but Clinton looked spectacular, dressed in a creme-colored top, navy plants, and a relaxed, confident visage that radiatedis that why yes it is!some real warmth. 

She tackled the expected talking pointsBernie staying in the race, the meanness of the campaign, Trumps issues with womenand confronted them with the usual brew of superficial bite and infallible, if not exactly rousing, logic.

On Sanderss refusal to leave the race: I think he has to do what he chooses to do. I understand that. I ran all the way to the end against Senator Obama. When it was over, because we had a much closer race than the one between Senator Sanders and myself, I endorsed him.

On the meanness of the campaign: Im so tired of it. Im so tired of the meanness and the insulting and the finger-pointing and the scapegoating... We oughtta show respect for each other. We oughtta work together. 

And on Trumps insistence that he will be better on womens issues when the general election starts: I would need more information, based on what Ive heard him say. He has been derogatory about women. He has called women by name and insulted them. He doesnt think that equal pay is a real issue Im sure there is somebody somewhere that he would be good for. But overall there is no evidence that he has an understanding of what womens lives would be today.

She expressed the same amount of surprise she always musters when DeGeneres asked if shes surprised that Trump has lasted this long, ticking off his laundrys list of campaign offenses and outlandish, arguably problematic claims, eventually insisting that, Once the seriousness of the general election really hits people he has to start being held accountable.

Then came the fun part, the PR rehab part, the like me, please like me part. And you know what? Though still ridiculous and barely able to disguise instances of panderwhich were no doubt theorized about on Twitter immediatelyit was the most successful of the silliness shes been tasked with weathering in the long slog towards relatability.

DeGeneres staged a game of Would You Rather where shed choose between two famous people shedjokingly, of course!choose as a running mate.

Actor Tony Goldwyn from Scandal had a good showing, as did George Clooney. Sticking to those talking points, Hill! Yes, these are indeed two things you have publicly expressed liking. 

She fawned over Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyonc, and Michelle Obama. She made an aww-worthy comment about needing Chelsea Clinton as her support system more than a running mate.

Weve come a long way since Bill Clinton blared that sax on Arsenio Halls show, and Hillary Clinton is, as is her eternal lot, lying in a bed of her husbands making. Whos to say if Clinton actually enjoys these diversions, or if shes as increasingly frustrated with them as we expect her to be. But the fact of that matter is, at least, shes getting better at them.

As the celebrity PR machine continues to turn to the reigning queen of daytime, DeGeneres once again proves her worth. In the battle between online trolls and their female targetsthis time at leastEllen doesnt just merit the call. Put her on speed dial.